Scar's Reign and Nala's Pain
by XxXSqueeksXxX
Summary: Scar has assumed the throne after the death of Mufasa. Now Nala, as a young cub, has to grow up fast in a hostile environment. But what can she do about Scar's increasing interest in her as she ages?
1. Chapter 1

**This is pretty much my first fanfiction. I appreciate reviews, but do try and be gentle. **

**This story takes place immediately after Scar assumes the throne. It will fit with the movie plot, with some additional information added in. It focuses mainly on Nala.** **I'm trying to keep all of my facts correct in line with the movies. It might become a bit mature later on. I hope you enjoy. :)**

Nala hunkered down in the tall grass, not daring to breathe as she watched her mother slink forward on silent paws. Her ears flicked back and forth as she concentrated on each lionesses' every move. She was determined not to make a sound after having ruined two hunts already that same day. Due to her clumsy paw-steps, she had made too much noise, alerting the prey to the hunting party's presence.

In the pride, most cubs were taught to hunt in private sessions with their mother. However, due to the loss of their king and the inclusion of the hyenas in the pride lands, Nala did not have the luxury of one on one training with Sarafina. Scar had recently decreed that every lioness old enough to eat meat must take part in the hunt. At the current moment, Nala was the only cub that wasn't still suckling milk. The only other cub her age had been a young male, which Scar had wasted no time in eliminating as a possible threat.

It had been only a month since Scar assumed the throne, and already, the lionesses were struggling to bring home enough meat to sate the appetite of him and his cronies. It was becoming ever more common for the hunters to not even have enough meat for the younger cubs and their mothers back at the den. With no males in the pride to challenge Scar's tyranny, the pride members had no option but to obey.

From her hiding place, Nala admired her mother's litheness and intensity. Her strong muscles moved smoothly under her velvet coat, its cream color melting into the dry brush through which she padded. Although Sarabi customarily lead the hunting party, her grief at the loss of her husband and son had her running left flank, with Sarafina leading instead. Nala trembled as the group paused, readying for the attack. Giving an almost invisible signal to the others, Sarafina charged in toward the injured buffalo the group had targeted. This time, the hunt was a success. Wearily, the hunting party returned to Pride Rock with their kill, relieved in the knowledge that Scar would be appeased this evening but distressed by the fact that it would all happen again tomorrow.

"Stay behind me, Nala", Sarafina whispered quietly as Sarabi presented the day's spoils to Scar. Nala cowered behind her mother's strong hindquarters, wanting nothing more than to disappear. Although Simba had been Nala's best friend, she had not spent any time at all with his father. She therefore had never really been close to a fully grown male lion, and found Scar quite intimidating. She tried her best to blend in with her mother's fur as the former queen addressed their alpha male.

"We were met with difficulties in our hunting attempts earlier in the day, but have brought you the prize from our most recent hunt. We hope it is to your liking." Sarabi bowed her head in respect. Scar looked skeptically at the lioness before him. With little expression, he gave signal to the hyenas to take the kill away and wait for him. The cackling animals threw themselves upon the food in a disorganized shuffle, paying no mind to Sarabi, who was shoved aside in the fray. Once calm again took the rock, Scar stepped lazily forward.

"What difficulties?" Scar asked, a smirk on his face.

"We.. the prey.. it…" Sarabi sighed, obviously trying not to rat out the young cub who fumbled during the first two hunting trips. With lightening quick speed, Scar strode to Sarabi and struck her across the face, claws outstretched.

"Spit it out! What happened?" His angry eyes flashed in Nala's direction and she felt her stomach drop. Slowly, the king slinked up to her mother as Sarabi held a paw against her wound. After glaring at Sarafina, Scar came to stand directly in front of Nala, his eyes boring into the frightened cub.

"Tell me child, did you enjoy your first hunt?" Scar's voice was sweet as honey, but his eyes showed an unpredictable rage. Nala cowered beneath his green eyed gaze, too afraid to speak. "SPEAK UP! Do not dare remain silent when I address you!" he roared.

Sarafina instinctively moved between her cub and the angry king, tensing herself for a blow. To everyone's surprise, however, Scar merely chuckled.

"The girl will learn, or she will die. See to it that you teach her well, mother dearest. We would hate for our lovely cub to be killed, now wouldn't we?" Scar strode away without giving Nala or her mother a second glance. "The kill will suffice for tonight. Tomorrow, I expect twice as much. Perhaps then you will be given a share of it." The scrawny lion retreated, heading toward the hyenas and meat that awaited him.

"He can't do this!" a darker furred lioness roared as the rest of the hunting party surrounded Sarabi to check her wound.

"We deserve that meat more than they do!" another lioness added, heading toward Scar's retreating figure. Several others muttered in agreement, also turning toward Scar.

"Stop." Sarabi's voice was soft from inside the circle of concerned hunters. The two lionesses who had spoken out turned to her, surprise on their faces.

The dark lioness who had spoken before rounded on Sarabi, the fur on her back raised in anger. "How can you of all animals stand up for him? How can you bow down to him as if he is your rightful king? Do you not grieve for your mate? Do you not feel for the loss of your son? Do you not remember the murder of Tess's young cub?"

Nala jumped as her mother rushed the dark lioness, a snarl on her face. "How DARE you speak to your queen this way!" she growled, her face nearly touching the other lioness's and her claws unsheathed. Nala hunkered down, shocked to see her mother behave this way to a fellow pride member. The darker lioness unsheathed her claws and arched her back, snarling back at Sarafina. All but Sarabi tensed, ready for a fight.

"She is not our queen any longer! She no longer leads our hunts and she no longer leads our pride!" A general murmur went through the crowd, but Nala wasn't able to decide if it was in agreement or argument.

"She has not lead our hunts because she is grieving! She is still our leader and the closest thing to a queen that we have! I took leadership of the hunts as a favor to my superior, and you would do well to remember that you are outranked by the both of us!" Sarafina growled softly.

Once again, Sarabi's calm voice spoke over the arguments.

"Sarafina, stand down."

Sarafina's eyes widened in surprise at Sarabi's order. "I will not allow them to disrespect you this way, Sarabi. I know the pain you feel for Mufasa and Simba's loss, and I will not allow them to remind you of it! I don't care if you are not officially our queen; you are still our leader!" Sarafina spoke from the corner of her mouth, keeping her eyes on the dark lioness.

Sarabi held her head high, pulling herself to her full height, which was impressive for a lioness. "I order you to stand down. All of you." She looked around the circle, holding the gaze of each lioness in turn. Slowly, the pride members began to relax, unwilling to disobey a direct order from their former queen. As the final set of claws was sheathed, Sarabi bowed her head and continued speaking, grief evident in her tone.

"You are right to be enraged for the actions of our new king. We all grieve over the loss of my mate, our prince, and the young male cub, myself more than anyone. But that does not mean that we can act lawlessly and without reason! We have no males to challenge Scar, and there is no evidence that Simba is alive. Therefore, Scar is our king and we must respect him; if not for ourselves, then for our cubs and the future of our pride. We must remain strong and do what is right for our pride. Perhaps one day, a rogue will appear and challenge Scar. We can only hope that we will one day have a just and true leader. Until then, we have each other. Fighting amongst ourselves is not going to solve anything! We must survive and hope for the best." Sarabi once again met the gaze of each lioness in turn, but this time was met with bowed heads and respect. With a sigh, she smiled gently. "Come. Tomorrow is a new day. Let us rest." Walking past Sarafina, the queen nuzzled her friend and whispered a quiet thank you.

As the other lionesses filed toward either the nursery or hunter's den, Nala slowly approached her mother. She was still shaken from her encounter with Scar and seeing her mother act so ferociously toward a pride sister. After being reassured by a gentle nuzzle from her mother, the young cub started toward the nursery den that had been her home since birth. Gently, Sarafina picked Nala up by the scruff, taking her instead to the den where the hunting party slept. Finding a spot a little ways from the rest of the pride sisters, Sarafina cuddled her cub, bathing her soothingly and purring to reassure her. After some time, the den was filled with snores from all of the seasoned hunters.

As the night sky darkened and the Kings of the Past began to shine, Nala laid her head on her sore forepaws. Although she had always been an active cub, she was not accustomed to walking as far as the hunting party traveled in a day, and her body was weary. She sighed, snuggling close to the sleeping form of her mother and allowing herself to succumb to the sadness she still felt at the loss of her best friend and the turmoil of the day. Nala lay quietly, listening to the sound of snores and also the sound of quiet sobs from where Sarabi lay. As the night wore on with no sleep, Nala wandered outside of the unfamiliar den.

Looking out across the Pride Lands, she could see the forms of hyenas roaming in the night. Watching them and hearing their faint laughter, Nala felt her heart fill with hate. She hated the hyenas, but more than anything, she hated Scar. Her jaw set and her tears stopped, the young cub thought about what poor Sarabi had said. She vowed to herself that she would save the Pride Lands from the tyranny that threatened to tear it apart. She didn't know how she could make a difference, but she knew that every decision she made from then on would be for the well-being of the pride. In that moment, with wisdom well beyond her short years, Nala realized that her cubhood was over.


	2. Chapter 2

Nala's stomach growled with anticipation as she eyed the scraggly antelope in front of her. Her ears flicked back and forth, listening intently for any signs of other animals in the area. Her muscles were tense under her flea-bitten coat, her claws unsheathed and digging into the dry ground. She took a deep breath, readying herself to spring on her unsuspecting prey.

The antelope did not put up much of a fight. The light was nearly gone from its eyes before Nala even sunk her teeth into its throat, and with a soft grunt, it went limp. Nala was glad for this, as she did not have much energy for a chase or a struggle. This antelope was the first meat she had found in a week and her body was weakening from hunger.

With her jaws clamped tightly around her kill's throat, she relished in the taste of warm blood in her mouth. It took all of her self-control not to tear into the beast right there. The antelope was skinny and would not fill her if she ate the entire thing, but she could not allow herself even that privilege. The entire pride was starving. Despite the small amount of meat on her kill, it was still her duty to bring it to her superior pride sisters.

It took Nala half the day to drag her kill to the grove of trees that served as the hunting party's meeting place. She had to stop several times to catch her breath. She was frustrated with herself for being weak, but knew it was from lack of nutrients during the most crucial time of her growth. If meat remained scarce, Nala knew she would not make it past her teenage years. Despite the love her mother and Sarabi had for her, they could not allow her to remain with the pride if she was unable to hunt. Being removed from the pride meant no protection, and eventually, certain death.

Nala covered her kill with leaves and dirt, hoping to hide the scent from other hungry predators, especially hyenas. She quietly slinked out of the trees, making sure there was no one watching.

The pride sisters had developed a ritual soon after Scar took over the pride. Instead of bringing all kills directly to Scar as they should, they hid it first in the grove. If there was more than one kill made during a day, the hunters would bring Scar only the largest, keeping the rest for themselves. This was the only way to ensure that the hunting party as well as the nursing mothers in the pride received food instead of it all going to the hyenas. They had to be careful that their secret was not discovered, or there was no doubt that Scar would punish them, most likely with death for their disloyalty.

Nala padded back to pride rock, exhausted, dusty, and hungry. As she entered the shade of the den, she was greeted by a purr and nuzzle from her mother, who was resting after her own long hunt. Nala's heart sunk as she took in her mother's condition. Her once beautiful coat was dry with patches missing. She had several scars from desperate hunts with dangerous animals that the pride would normally leave alone. When Nala was a cub, her mother had always held her head high and her eyes had always been bright as if full of fire. The light in her eyes was gone now, and she always seemed to droop. Nala sighed, cursing Scar for everything he did to make life hard for the pride.

"There is meat in the grove, Mother." Nala said quietly as she lay down to rest beside her mother. The other hunters in the den perked up at the promise of meat.

"Good. We will wait for the rest of our sisters to return. Sarabi leads a hunt now with Tess and Ginger."

Nala nodded, her eyes heavy and her body aching for sleep.

When Nala's eyes fluttered open again, the rest of the hunting party had returned and the sky was red with the sunset. She stretched her sore muscles and yawned before padding over to Sarabi and the other lionesses.

"Was your hunt successful?" Nala asked, bowing her head in respect to Sarabi. The older lioness's condition was just as deplorable as Sarafina's. Her fur was dull and her eyes lifeless.

"Yes, child. We caught a water buffalo that was trapped in a ravine. We delivered it to Scar after discovering your kill in the grove. There were hyenas in the area when we left, so we must not go all at once to eat. When it is fully dark, we will go in groups."

Nala's mouth watered at the thought of the meat waiting in the grove. Sarabi named off the order in which the lionesses would go to retrieve their meals, naming Nala last due to her rank in the pride. She sighed, wishing for a moment she had eaten her kill on her own. She shook her head, knowing she could never be so selfish. Quietly, Nala walked back to her place beside her mother, sinking down and placing her head on her paws. Just then, four hyenas appeared in the entrance to the den. Instantly, all the pride sisters rose, the fur on their backs standing up, their claws unsheathed, and their fangs showing.

Sarabi stepped forward. "Your kind is not welcome in this den. Be gone with you." She growled, approaching the hyenas threateningly.

The hyenas laughed their cackling laugh, but backed up to a respectful distance. The largest of the group stepped forward, eyes flashing and fangs exposed.

"The king wishes a word with your five strongest hunters. Now." With another cackle, the hyenas turned tail and ran, leaving the lionesses alone in their den.

The lioness named Tess stepped forward, worry evident in her tone. "What could that monster possibly want from us now? We have given him his kill." There was a general murmur of agreement from the group.

"What if he has found our grove?" Ginger said, causing several panicked gasps and whispers.

"He would not want only five of us if that were true. He has some other plan and we will not know what it is without speaking with him." Sarabi stated, always the voice of reason in the group. "Tess, Ginger, Vaneer, Nyla, and Zira, you are our strongest hunters."

Ginger, Vaneer, and Nyla stepped forward, fear in their eyes but their heads bowed in acceptance. Zira stood with a smirk on her lips, no respect showing for Sarabi. Tess remained where she was, her body rigid.

"I want nothing to do with Scar, Sarabi. I won't go to him." Tess said, speaking through her teeth with hatred in her eyes. She still hated Scar for killing her young cub.

"I understand, Tess. Sarafina, you will go in her place." Nala gasped, looking quickly to her mother.

With a sigh, Sarafina stood and joined the other lionesses that had been chosen. Nala's stomach turned as the image of her mother facing Scar filled her mind.

"Sarabi, my mother cannot go. She is weak with hunger. Please, let me go instead." Nala said, bowing to Sarabi but also holding her gaze.

"That is ridiculous, Nala. You are still a cub and in no better condition than I am." Sarafina argued, her eyes flashing.

"I'm not a cub anymore, Mother. I am a member of this pride and it is my duty to do what is best for it. Tess has already been through too much at the hands of Scar. You are not as young as you once were and have not eaten a full meal in months. Whatever it is he wants, I am strong enough to deal with it." Nala pulled herself to her full height and held her mother's gaze. "Have faith in me, Mother."

The lionesses all stood looking between mother and daughter, tense. Sarabi watched quietly, allowing the two to sort out the situation on their own. Sarafina stood for a long moment, holding her daughter's gaze. When Nala did not back down, Sarafina sighed. She lowered her head, accepting her young daughter's words. "Be careful, my love." She purred. With a sigh, she returned to her resting place and nodded to Sarabi to continue.

"Very well. Nala, you may be strong, but it is true that you are barely past your cubhood. Do not allow your inexperience to put you or your pride sisters in danger. Whatever it is that Scar wants, allow your superiors to lead." Nala nodded, bowing her head in respect to the rest of the lionesses.

Zira stepped forward. "You are all being silly. Scar is our leader and he wants only what is best for us. Why do you fear him as if you are all cubs?" With a snort, she stepped out of the den, heading toward the top of pride rock.

"That one is trouble." Tess whispered quietly, shaking her head as the other chosen lionesses, including Nala, follow Zira's paw steps to the top of pride rock.


End file.
